


Jesse

by venomandchampagne (sushibunny)



Series: However Long It Takes [4]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Caroline is Displeased, Drabble Collection, F/M, Jesse is Just Confused, Klaus is a Quidnunc, Though Really This Could/Should Have Happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 06:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4511121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sushibunny/pseuds/venomandchampagne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not one to leave things to chance, Klaus decides to keep on eye on Caroline when she starts college, finding a useful informant in the form of a certain upperclassman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jesse

**Author's Note:**

> This drabble was written as a response to a prompt on my tumblr: Could you do a Drabble where Klaus has Jesse kinda watch Caroline and that's why he took interest in her so that he can give info to Klaus so he knows she's safe and then maybe finds out about Bonnie, or Silas/ Stefan or the breakup with Tyler?
> 
> Originally posted on November 22nd 2013.

Klaus tried not to look at the phone for the tenth time in so many minutes. He was late. He should have called by now. Klaus Mikaelson was many things, but patient wasn't one of them. Not about this, at least.

He practically dove for the phone when its ringing interrupted his pacing. He spared a moment to consider how lucky he was that he had the house to himself for the night before answering. He certainly didn't need Rebekah's snide remarks and her inevitable prying into his eagerness for a phone call.

"You're late," he said gruffly into his cell.

"Sorry, I got held up. Some girl jumped out of a window and the cops were asking questions-"

"I don't need your life's story, tell me about  _her_ ," he growled, his impatience getting the better of him, as usual.

"I still don't understand why I'm even calling you. I don't even  _know_  you; you're just some weird British dude that cornered me on Returning Student Move In Day, and now- now I feel the urge to do things for you and to call you."

"Yes, well, that is how compulsion works, mate," Klaus smirked.  _Humans_ , he thought, shaking his head. "Why don't you just do what you were told and update me. I think you'll find you don't have a choice in the matter, anyway."

"I- I still don't…" the voice sounded confused before the familiar listless tone of a compulsion victim took over. "I saw her with her roommates, a brunette and a blonde with glasses. I invited them to the party, like you said. They showed but only the one with glasses stayed long. Then she jumped out of a window."

"Yes, yes tragic- wait, her roommate jumped? Blonde? What were their names?" he demanded. If Bonnie or Elena was dead Caroline would be devastated. Klaus felt the unfamiliar tug of worry in his chest; not for the doppelganger-turned-vampire or the witch, only for  _her_.

"The brunette was… Elena. The dead girl's name was Megan."

Klaus let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Relief flooded his body. This 'Megan' must be new, Caroline was probably fine. But why was there a Megan in the first place? "What about the witch, Bonnie? Where was she?"

"I don't know any Bonnie. Those were the only people I saw Caroline with."

Klaus sighed. It was times like these that he really missed his sired hybrids. Good help was so hard to find these days. "Fine," he relented, satisfied Caroline was alright. "Anything else of interest to report?"

"No. I haven't seen her since the party."

Klaus hesitated before asking what he really wanted to know. The human was compelled, after all, it's not like he could tell anyone about Klaus and any weakness he showed. "How… How is she?"

"She seemed fine. Adjusting to college life."

"Good," he sighed. "Well, you know what to do. Keep an eye on her, do whatever it takes. And call me on time tomorrow,  _Jesse_." Klaus hung up the phone abruptly, satisfied that his plan to subtlely keep tabs on Caroline was working. For the most part.

* * *

The next night the call was only 5 minutes late. Klaus was still not amused.

"Jesse," Klaus answered in a deceptively cheerful voice. "I thought we had discussed your tardiness in our last phone call."

"I'm sorry, there was this guy and he knocked me out and-"

"What?" Klaus interrupted. Perhaps this human was not the best candidate for keeping an eye on Caroline. Trouble seemed to find him just as much as it did Caroline and her friends. "Just tell me about Caroline."

"Well, that's the thing. She was there too. With that guy."

"What?" he growled. He should really be more shocked by the news that Caroline was somehow involved in this newest bit of trouble, but he wasn't; only annoyed. Honestly, he would probably be shocked if she  _wasn't_  involved. "Start from the beginning!"

"Okay, well, she and her roommate, the one that's still alive [Klaus rolled his eyes], showed up in my Micro class, which is strange because they're freshmen. Anyway, they got kicked out by the professor, but I managed to get Caroline to agree to come to the bonfire tonight first. I saw her roommate- Elena there first and I talked to her for a bit before her boyfriend hit me over the head and knocked me out."

Klaus chuckled. That certainly sounded like Damon. Would the man ever stop acting so insecure about his relationship with the doppelganger?  _Probably not, considering how he became her boyfriend in the first place_ , he mused.

"When I came to Caroline was there. She helped me. And…" he trailed off.

Klaus frowned. He could tell the human was leaving something out. "And?" he pressed.

"And… I…"

"You can't fight the compulsion, so you may as well just tell me," Klaus said, annoyed.

"Ilikeher." he blurted out, almost too quickly for Klaus to make out the words.

"What?! Feelings are not part of the deal," he growled out.

"What 'deal'? This is just you ordering me around; I'm not getting anything out of it!"

"Semantics," Klaus said shrugging, masking his anger behind bravado. "What you're getting out of it is your life. You're not allowed to have  _feelings_  for her, is that clear?"

"I thought you cared about this girl, don't you want her to be happy? Don't you care about how miserable she is?" Jesse challenged.

"What happened, I thought you said she was fine?" Klaus demanded.

"She was, I thought. Apparently she's having boyfriend troubles."

This peaked Klaus' interest. "Please elaborate."

"Well, I guess her boyfriend was supposed to come to school with her, but he deferred a semester. She said they were still together, but I think it's only a matter of time before that changes."

Interesting. Klaus would have thought his former hybrid would have been attached at the hip to Caroline. He had been surprised when his intel over the summer showed no signs of Tyler in Mystic Falls, but he had assumed the mutt was just laying low and making sure Klaus' promise to free him wasn't a ruse. Klaus snorted, as if he needed to use such a ploy to get ahold of Tyler if he truly wanted to. He had fully expected to find Tyler present at college, though.

Klaus refocused on the conversation at hand. "So you thought you would just move in on her once she's alone and vulnerable?" He narrowed his eyes, once again questioning if he had picked the right human for this task.

"What? No, it's not like that. She just… Look, I can tell when a girl is interested-"

"Enough!" Klaus roared. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, struggling to regain control of his temper. He had nothing to worry about, he told himself. He had met this boy, compelled all his secrets out of him. He knew everything about him. Sure, he was good-looking, as far as humans went, but he was just as small-town as Tyler, and apparently that was not working out well either, just as he predicted. Even if Caroline had some sort of _relationship_  with Jesse, it would be no more than a fling, really. He had promised her he would wait, however long it took. He supposed he would have to just grit his teeth and accept that "however long" might include a few more boyfriends before him. He didn't have to like it, but he could accept it. "Just… Do not hurt her," he said stiffly. "Or else I  _will_  come after you. And I will do more than compel you this time."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Jesse said uneasily, deciding to just accept that vague command as permission.

"Anything else?" Klaus was now eager to end this conversation. He found himself craving a good scotch. Or a good vein.

"Nah, that's it."

"Good. Inform me of any new developments tomorrow.  _On time_." Klaus hung up, hoping those new developments would be purely platonic. And free of danger.

* * *

This time the call came early. Klaus wasn't sure whether he was annoyed or impressed. He decided on annoyed, since it was about two hours early and he was halfway through a painting featuring a beautiful blonde.

"And what do you have to report today?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"I, uh, I'm not sure?" Jesse said, his tone matching his words.

Klaus sighed. That was not a good enough reason to interrupt his painting. "Then why did you call me?"

"Something feels off. My mind…"

No, definitely not a good enough reason. "Get on with it already," Klaus said impatiently.

"I feel confused. Like when you did that thing to me, compelled me. It feels like that. I don't remember how I got here."

Now that was interesting. "Go on, tell me what you do remember."

"Well, Caroline invited me to this thing in her hometown. Some creepy graveyard bell thing. Anyway, we were studying, and I kissed her, but it was awkward, so we just went back to studying. Then we were gonna party, because I guess that's what they like to do down here, party in graveyards. But then some guy shows up… And… I'm not sure, I can't remember. All I know is I'm here in some crypt. For some reason. I don't know where Caroline is."

Klaus frowned. He opted to ignore the kiss business, though he allowed himself a brief moment to enjoy that it was apparently awkward. He would have his own chance with Caroline, he was sure of it, and this little dalliance with Jesse would ultimately mean nothing. The memory loss, however, that was something important. "It sounds like you were compelled, my friend. Probably by Caroline. I advise you to call her so she can come find you. Do try to keep our appointment for later tonight, though. I am sure you will have more to tell me then. Oh, and you should probably refrain from attending anymore 'hometown events' with Caroline in the future. Mystic Falls tends to be harmful to most people's health."

"Right, okay. Thanks, I guess," Jesse said awkwardly, not sure if it was appropriate to thank the creepy guy who had basically mind controlled him for the probably wise advice.

"Mmm, don't mention it," Klaus drawled before he ended the call and returned to his painting.

It wasn't until he had finally finished the portrait that he noticed three hours had gone by. Klaus frowned and reached for his phone. No missed calls. Where was that human this time? He shook his head to remove any thoughts of Jesse being with Caroline and decided to call himself, planning to not so kindly reiterate the importance of punctuality. No one kept Klaus waiting without suffering the consequences.

Klaus was none too pleased when he couldn't reach Jesse again that night. Or the next. He decided to give it a few more days until he would start to worry. Perhaps he had made the compulsion too vague and Jesse thought he could just not check in if nothing happened involving Caroline. Surely he would call soon. He had to, after all.

* * *

Caroline looked up as a phone began to ring. It wasn't hers, the ringtone was unfamiliar. That must mean it was his. Jesse's phone. The boy she had failed to save. She wiped away her tears before guiltily picking up the phone from her nightstand, wondering which family member of his was trying to get in touch with him, and never would be able to again. As she looked at the name lit up across the screen her eyes widened before quickly narrowing to mere slits. She hastily pressed the 'answer' button and brought the phone to her ear, listening carefully to make sure there was no mistake.

"It's about time! I suppose not even compulsion can overcome your generation's inability to follow simple instructions. It's been days! Where have you been?" the familiar voice came through the earpiece, causing a myriad of emotions to rush through Caroline. She took a breath before answering, focusing on only one: anger.

"Care to explain why you're calling my new college friend's phone?" she asked icily.

Klaus stuttered out an answer, the shock at hearing her on the other end of the phone clear in his voice. "Caroline, I- I can explain."

"This better be good." she said decisively. Her tone was no-nonsense and left no room for argument.

"First off, are you all right, sweetheart?"

"What? Yes, I'm fine, Klaus, now tell me what's going on!"

Klaus smiled, despite her obvious displeasure at finding him on the other end of the line. She was still on the phone, willing to listen, and that spoke volumes as far as he was concerned. "Well, love, since you and your little group of friends seemed to attract, if not seek out danger, and I cannot be there myself, I took out a little insurance policy."

Caroline sighed. She knew talking to Klaus was probably the last thing she should be doing right now, but she was alone and upset. Plus she wanted answers. "Start from the beginning, and don't you dare leave anything out!" she demanded, settling back on her bed, making herself comfortable. She was only going to indulge him until she got her answers, she told herself. Then she would hang up. For sure.

She chose to ignore the smile that was clear in his voice as he answered. "Of course not, love. It all began when I decided to take a trip up to visit your new school…"


End file.
